February 20, 2013Comments Off on The King is Dead: Long live the King?

"We have become accustomed to speak of the 'Supreme Pontiff', of a 'monarchical-style' papacy, of Roman ‘hands-on’ intervention world-wide. But it was not always so and need not be so". So writes Jesuit theologian Gerry O'Hanlon in an article on the papacy published in the Irish Times on Tuesday, 19 February. The article examines what the role of the Pope should involve and was written after Pope Benedict XV1's historic resignation announcement that took the whole world by surprise.

Michael Paul Gallagher SJ, Dean of the Faculty of Theology at the Gregorian University in Rome, was back in Ireland recently to deliver a lecture on the theology of Pope Benedict. In an interview for RNN, he spoke to Piaras Jackson about the Pope’s theology and attitudes. Michael Paul was asked what themes he sees in the Pope’s writings. You can listen to or read the interview here. Audio courtesy of RNN.

Michael O’Sullivan has taught liberation theology at third level and with community groups for over 20 years and has lived and worked with the economically poor in El Salvador and elsewhere for almost as many years. He was the co-organiser and the chairperson of the first conference in Ireland on Liberation theology in 1976, and the editor of the conference proceedings entitled The Liberation of Theology: Theology of Liberation and the Irish Context (Dublin: Student Christian Movement, 1978).

July 2006: This article is taken from a talk given by Fr Gerry O’Hanlon SJ at a seminar jointly presented by The Jesuit Centre for Faith & Justice and The Jesuit Centre of Spirituality in Manresa House, Dublin (June 2006) on the theme: Faith and Justice for the Long Haul.

February 2006: Cathy Molloy sees the encyclical Deus Caritas Est as a fine instance of the Church “getting real” about matters which concern ordinary people, both in their personal lives and in their response to the call for justice and charity in society.